In the night, intermixed with the fortissimo percussion of rain on the metal roof, I heard a sound I could not identify, a sound resembling a deep, burring back-up signal on a vehicle, or some repetitive, interrupted emergency signal. Why doesn’t it stop? I wondered. What could the emergency be that would last for hours? At dawn, when I arose, I realized the sound was emanating from our yard. It was a frog. After the rain-triggered waves of frog song Vilis and I had heard in the rainforest at Paluma, I should have guessed.

Bucking the weather, I ran and walked for an hour in cloud, wind, and drenching rain. Utterly soaked, I jogged over cobblestones of mango seeds and through pools of water on the paved parkway path. Distant hills were lost in rain, and black-cockatoos appeared out of the mist like a formation of dark, majestic aircraft skimming low over the trees, their calls a wild invitation to fly with them. I found a new trail bordering the river that would provide good birding in better weather, and on my way home, brushed water off the seats of the exercise machines on the fitness track and proved myself pathetic at butterfly presses, chin-ups, and inclined sit-ups, but okay at everything else.

Later in the morning, I heard on ABC radio that on this, the eve of Australia Day, debate has once again arisen as to whether Australia should have a flag completely its own, rather than one that includes the Union Jack of the United Kingdom.¹ Australia’s current flag bears the Union Jack in the upper left corner, a single large star beneath it called the Commonwealth Star, and five stars on the right part of the flag that represent the Southern Cross constellation. In its first and third components, the flag closely resembles that of New Zealand and has, rather embarrassingly, been confused with the Kiwi flag at official international functions. Until the 1950’s, most Australians apparently considered themselves to be citizens of Great Britain, and thus, the Union Jack fit right in with that image. Fifty years on, however, Australia is pursuing its own identity, and its citizens no longer consider themselves as Brits, but as proud Australians. Canada, in fact, was held up as an example of a former British colony that adopted a flag uniquely its own, which I happen to know occurred on February 15, 1965. However, while some Australians are pushing for a new flag, others want to keep the current one because of historical ties.

The flag debate followed on the heels of a 3-day royal visit by Prince William that ended January 21 and highlighted discussions as to whether the Monarchy is still relevant to Australia. In 1999, Australians voted to retain the Monarchy, but the AusFlag group promoting a new Australian flag is of the view that another vote will be held soon and the Monarchy will get ditched.¹

In late afternoon, I opened a can of coconut milk and cooked chicken breasts in a cup of it, diluted, along with chopped green onions, as per the instructions given Vilis and me by the banana grower from Papua New Guinea we met at the Townsville Community Garden three weeks ago. When the meat was tender, I removed it from the coconut sauce and cooked baby spinach in the liquid, then returned the chicken to the sauce to serve it. The taste was unusual, like sweetness tangled up with earthy flavour, somehow thick and yet bright, rather like Townsville’s weather. The gardener had told us it’s good to try something new, and he was right. I’d cook it again.

Reference:

1. ABC News. Ray Martin leads push for flag change. January 25, 2010. © 2010 ABC. Accessed 25-Nov-2010. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/25/2801033.htm